Assassins
by AyakaChan17
Summary: Everyone who plays Minecraft knows mobs aren't good news. Especially Rose, a 16-year-old miner who is out for revenge. But nobody is who they seem to be. The more you get to know everybody, the more secrets you find out everyone has. Um, Hi I sometimes get writers block so I start writing from the end; This whole thing is kind of messed up


**Assassins**

I

"If you look for the light, you can often find it; if you look for the dark, it is all you will ever see."

 _Caydyn glanced slowly up at the gigantic_ mountainous pile of TNT in front of her, gleaming red in the eye of the slowly rising full moon, as if beckoning her to step forward and embrace the happiness. She sighed dreamily as she stared up at it in all its glory, while pink fluffy baby creepers with adorable little wings fluttered about in the pale blue sky. It was everything a seventh-grade creeper girl could want.

Caydyn woke up with a jolt. She groggily sat up, blinking the sleep from her bright green eyes. She looked around her dorm room, her eyes stopping on her clock. It was 7:08pm, and school started at 7:30pm. She yawned and stretched. _I have plenty of time_ …Caydyn thought to herself, relieved. She slipped out of bed, and pulled her favorite emerald-green sweater over her black T-shirt. As she tip-toed across her room towards the iron door, she saw her sister, Caydynce, sleeping soundly through the corner of her eye, and she smiled. Caydyn then tugged open the door, but as she turned to leave, she thought she saw a flash of long, wavy red locks flapping in the chilly November wind through the dirt-stained window as it disappeared around the corner. She rushed to the windowsill, and clutched it tightly. "Rose?" Caydyn whispered, half to herself. "No." She shook her head. It couldn't be. Then she slipped away into the dark shadows of the evening night.

"Really," Brittney breathed, rolling her golden amber eyes. She stared at Caydyn, raising an eyebrow. "I'm being completely honest!" Caydyn insisted, slightly annoyed. "That hair…" Caydyn whispered to her best friend, leaning across the table. "That was _definitely_ Rose's hair. I mean, who ELSE has bright red hair?" "Snow-san does," Brittney murmured thoughtfully. "No, not red like a redhead, red like really actually red." Brittney stopped and thought for a moment.

"Sorry, can't help you there then."

"Thank you anyway." Caydyn said, staying hopeful.

Analynn teleported next to Caydyn. "Good morning, Creeper-chan!" Analynn grinned playfully and straightened out her ruffled skirt. "Hey, Analynn," Caydyn smiled. "You ready for lunch?" she asked.

The two best friends soon arrived at the cafeteria. Analynn plopped down her backpack at an empty table."I wonder where everyone has gone," Caydyn asked, confused. "It's a surprise!" Analynn called over her shoulderas she skipped away. "Huh," Caydyn murmured. She walked over to where she and her friends usually sat, when suddenly, a big BOOM shattered the cafeteria, raining multicolored confetti on Caydyn. She looked up, awestruck at all the confetti floating around, like delicate droplets of rain that defied gravity. Then, hundreds of transparent green balloons floated up into the beautiful night sky, shining like stars. As they rose up into the atmosphere, a giant veil of darkness plunged the cafeteria into shadows once more.

Suddenly, a head with tasseled dark brown almond hair and stormy but playful gray eyes popped out of the huge pile of confetti, scattering random pieces of it onto the ground. A flake of fragile ribbon with red and blue glitter sprinkled on it landed on the girl's nose, making her sneeze. She blinked, and then her eyes lit up, and she laughed. "Caydyn!" "Silver-san!" Caydyn exclaimed, hugging Skylar. "You planned ALL of this?" Caydyn asked, amazed. "Well, _duh,_ " Skylar said. "It's my best friend's birthday and I don't do anything to celebrate? What the hell!" Caydyn laughed. "You literally _are_ the party planner of MMS. Anyway, thanks a bunch! If you get a homework pass for all this hard work, you totally deserve it!" Skylar laughed. "Well, I got to go! I'm going to History next period. We have to learn about this stupid buckethead who invented flushable toilets, and I still got to finish homework about another idiot who discovered avocados." She said, making a disgusted face, then racing off in the direction of the History classroom.

"Hey, Spider-san? Can I ask you something?" Caydyn whispered, tapping the spider on the shoulder. "What is it?" Chloe snapped, turning around. "Speak up, if you have anything important to say." "Okay," Caydyn said, taking a deep breath. "Did you happen to see a …a girl perhaps, with bright red hair?" Chloe snorted. "You mean, like Snow-san? I just saw her yesterday at the Clarvel Ice Cream shop, looking at the ice cream cakes." "No, like…" Caydyn started out, then her voice trailed off and ended flat. "You know what? Never mind what I was saying before. I think…" She lowered her voice. "I saw a girl this morning, on Jackson Street. I think she was Rose." Caydyn waited for Chloe to gasp and back away, but instead, Chloe blew a lock of wavy purple hair to the side of her face, and sighed sympathetically. "Caydyn, now I REALLY think you're going crazy. I feel _so_ bad for you, sweetie!" She exclaimed in a phony voice. Then, she sashayed away, giggling.

Caydyn sighed in dismay. She usually enjoyed gym, but today she wasn't feeling up for any sports. She had talked to ALL her friends, but every single one of them had had a reaction similar to Ari's. As she gave the soccer ball a half-hearted kick, she thought about how Analynn had replied: "Creeper-chan, are you feeling all right? I want to agree with you on this, but I seriously don't think Alex would have escaped from the End. We locked her up pretty darn well," Just then, a finger tapped on Caydyn's shoulder. "Hi," a shy voice piped up. Caydyn nearly jumped out of her skin. "Hi, Jen-san," Caydyn answered. Jenny the ghast batted her chocolatey eyelashes, and asked in a sweet voice: "You don't look very happy, Caydyn-san." "Er…yes, I um, have something on my mind that's bothering me, that's all," Caydyn stammered. Jenny smiled a big sixth-grader smile, and twirled her long, straight white hair. "Maybe you want to talk to me about it?" "Do you promise to not to tell ANYBODY?" Jenny's smile wavered for a moment, then she said quietly, "I would have liked to tell- I mean no, I don't want to tell anybody!" She blushed and looked at the floor. Caydyn gave an amused snort. Jenny's super crush on another ghast, Jay-kun, was legendary. "All right then," Caydyn quickly filled her in about Rose. Jenny's only reply was, "Let's do this."

II

"There are heartless people who once cared too much."

 _Rose paused her work to stare at_ the dull brick wall _,_ which probably had moss and fungi and all sorts of weird, unidentified species of weeds growing in the cracks and corners. She made a grossed-out face at her cramped, untidy home in the End. _It's better than nothing,_ she thought. She had been getting along just fine, until _little miss Caydyn_ and her pleasant little _mob friends_ had ruined everything, imprisoning her deep underground. If it wasn't for the food she had packed in her bag, she would have already starved. "If only I had more time…" She said aloud, panicking. Then it hit her like a stack of bricks. "Time…" She whispered.

Rose let her happiest memories swallow up her soul, the bad times dissolving, and then she faded away into memories of long ago.

"Ha, ha!" Stephanie shouted. "Catch me if you can, Rose-chan!" She stuck out her tongue at Rose. "Of _course_ I'll catch you!" Rose yelled back at Stephanie, her feet thudding on the soft blades of grass. "Tag, you're it!" Rose exclaimed happily, knocking Stephanie to the ground. Stephanie doubled over with laughter, as she rolled over, and stood up, then took off like a bolt of lightning in skinny jeans and a sweatshirt. But Rose was already scrambling away, off into the distance. "Rose-chan, wait up!" Stephanie cried. She frantically looked around, in a desperate attempt to find Rose. "Rose-chan, where are you?!" Stephanie screamed.

Eventually, Stephanie stumbled across a ravine cut deep into the earth, with jagged stone edges sharp enough to cut flesh. Down below, she heard a humanoid voice calling her name. "Steph, are you up there? Help me!" Stephanie crouched down and peered over the cliff ledge, to see a very scared and exhausted Rose, glancing up at her. "I'm coming, Rose-chan! Just hold on a sec, okay?" Stephanie looked for a way down, but she couldn't see anything except the growing darkness all around her. _Night is approaching,_ she thought to herself. _My mother must be so_ _worried, and my siblings, too!_ She realized. Either way, whether she stayed aboveground or went underground, she was going to get hurt. Confused, lost, and helpless in the dark, she slowly walked to the cliff edge, and jumped into nothingness.

As Stephanie was falling, part of her sweatshirt ripped on a sharp ridge that was jutting outwards, cutting her exposed arm. Agony shot through her, and it felt like a million diamond swords were piercing her heart. She landed on her back, and every muscle in her exhausted ten-year-old body ached. Her bones felt like they were breaking, and she had no chance whatsoever of survival. Suddenly, a familiar voice called: "Stephanie-san? Are you okay?" Every word shone in her mind like tiny rays of hope. She blinked open her eyes, which had lost their precious gem-like shine. Her once-beautiful sultry smooth chestnut hair had been ruffled and now hung down miserably like corn stalks in a bleak winter. Rose helped her to her feet, and walked side by side into a small grotto caked with a thin layer of dust. As they lay down for the night, Stephanie thought about what they had left behind. Their mothers, siblings, belongings, and even their old way of life. But starting tomorrow, she was going to be a new person, with a new life. Stephanie Jackson no longer existed. She was someone else now. Someone new.

Stephanie stretched and yawned in the bright light of dawn. She roused Rose, and then said: "Rose-chan, I'm going to try to find something to eat, okay? You stay right here," As she crept out of the grotto, she headed towards the left, down into a cave. She then spotted a bat hanging peacefully down from the rocky ceiling, minding its own business _. Ew,_ she thought. _I will NOT eat that. But what choice do I have?_ She thought dejectedly. As she started stalking the bat, she carefully drew her bow, and let the arrow fly. With a soft twang and a sickening thump, the bat fell from its perch and landed motionless on the rocks. Stephanie slowly picked it up, and raced back to the small grotto that she and Rose now called home. "Bat?" Rose exclaimed. "You won't find much else, unless you want to eat rock and dirt," Stephanie joked. "From now on, just call me Steph,"

As they munched down on roasted bat, Rose suggested: "Why don't we go mining or something? We don't have much resources anyway," "I've only got a couple of sticks, and some coal bits, plus some worn-out wooden pickaxes," Steph replied. Rose strapped on her backpack, and they headed down into the caves to mine.

"Hey, look!" Rose cried. "There's a bunch of iron here!" Steph gasped. They were really lucky to find iron so quickly! They mined the iron carefully, until Steph heard soft, leafy footsteps padding towards them through the onyx darkness. A sliver of green like the undergrowth in the world so far above them caught her eye, and the creature suddenly gave out a horrid-sounding snake-like hiss. Steph froze in horror, recognizing what the monster was. Risking a glance at Rose, Steph saw that her friend was still mining away, not sensing anything unusual. Then, in a brilliant flash of green, the creeper leaped attackingly, and yowling with immense fear, Steph knocked Rose out of the way, and bowled her over. Rose let out a startled cry, and then, they both tumbled into darkness, out of the creeper's way.

It hurt to stand up. Steph groaned as she heaved her pickaxe back into her backpack. She was about to light a torch to spread some light over the mysterious area which they had rolled into, when Rose said quietly in the darkness, "Thank you,"

"What for?"

"For…for saving me back there, with the creeper,"

Steph stopped, then smiled a clownish smile. "Its what friends are for, silly," But Rose still wouldn't let it go so easily. Tears began to well up in Rose's deep blue eyes. "NO! You don't understand! You could have just let me die, and start a life of your own, but instead you risked your life for ME! Me, of all people! I'm just a small nobody, but you could have done great things in your life, but instead here we are, lost, hungry, and helpless in the dark! It feels like YOU are the one always having to come rescue me when I'm in trouble! I owe you so much, Steph! I can't… I just can't…" By now, tears were streaming down Rose's face like a heavy downpour of sadness, miserable memories, and anger at herself. All defiance seemed gone from her figure, her trusting blue eyes had lost their hopeful, caring quality. Her mind seemed to be glazed over with hatred for her actions. She seemed to have given up the will to live.

"Rose-chan, wake up!" Steph frantically shook her friend, feeling a tiny pinprick of hope gnawing at her heart. Rose pushed out a few grim, dismaying last words with the little energy she had left. "Leave. Save yourself. I'm not worth it," then she collapsed on the frayed, rough rock. "No, you ARE worth it!" Steph whispered. "YOU ARE!" She clutched Rose's limp body. Her head hung, heartbroken at the near loss of her only friend, and her eyes haunted so that she looked demented, she crawled into a corner and closed her eyes, reaching in her mind to find even a small sliver of hope.

Steph blinked open her pale blue eyes, and covered Rose in a blanket. She then dragged her unconscious friend out into a rocky clearing, with a small hole in the roof which let in a small ray of sunlight. _This looks like a great place to set up camp,_ she thought. As she prepared some more roast bat, Rose suddenly stood up, and lugged herself over to a stone slab which served as a table. "Why didn't you leave me there?" Rose's voice was cold. "Well, I couldn't just leave you there, we're doing this together, right?" Steph answered, flipping the roast bat. Rose's tone softened a little. "Oh… Okay." She tilted her head. "What do you say, we start sticking close together from now on?" Steph suggested. "Sure!" Rose brightened. "Best friends?" "BEST friends!"

Four years later

"Rose-chan!" Steph shouted, as she raced away from an attacking enderman. Its jaws opened wide and showed menacing teeth, as it let out an ear-splitting screech. Though the duo were decked out in enchanted diamond armor, they were losing badly to the terrifying Ender Dragon and her ferocious gang of fearless endermen. "Rose!" Steph shouted again, making a desperate attempt to dodge the advancing Ender Dragon, flying overhead and getting ready to charge. "Help me!" She was now surrounded by endermen on all sides, and her energy and consciousness were depleting quickly. She had no idea where Rose was, and she was afraid that if Rose didn't arrive soon, she would die. How could Rose betray her when they had worked together to get this far? She swung her sword feebly, knocking back a few endermen, and then she collapsed.

Steph was dimly aware of the blast that left the endermen shrouded in mist. They quickly teleported away to safety, and then a tall figure looked around and said: "Steph, I'm so sorry I took so long to get here, but I was busy fighting of a group of charging endermen, and- AAAAHH!" Rose knelt down beside her, and whispered, "I'm so sorry," Then Steph slowly sat up, and replied weakly: "I think I'm fine, but I can't fight any more. Can you finish of the Ender Dragon by yourself?" "I think so," Rose sighed. "Just stay here and rest for-huh?" Suddenly, a creeper-girl came running over with an enderman-girl. "Is that her?" The creeper-girl asked slowly. "That's HER!" The enderman-girl snarled angrily. "All right then, if that's REALLY her," The creeper-girl answered, as Steph blinked, confused. Then, out of a sudden, the creeper-girl pulled out a knife, glinting devilishly, showing visions of death, misery, and foreboding essence. "What are you doing?!" Steph cried. The creeper- girl looked away guiltily, then plunged the knife deep into Steph's heart. Agony racked her body, and she felt her own blood pouring out onto the End stone, like a fast-flowing terrifying red river. She felt surprisingly calm at her moment of death, and as she fought through the increasing pain to breath, she whispered to Rose: "Goodbye, Alex." And as she struggled for a last shallow breath, she smiled. The last thing she saw was the enderman-girl looking on with a wild look in her eyes. Then, she gave way to endless darkness.

Rose blinked open her eyes, and found herself sobbing quietly at the memory of Steph's death. Caydyn and Analynn had then locked her up in here. Anger fueled her, and she burst out of the little space she had called home. Even after all the months she had spent locked up, her fighting skills had not deteriorated at all. She still had the heart of a warrior. A cold-hearted warrior, that is. Using every trick she knew, she fought the dragon. Just a few hours later, the bruised and bloody body of the Ender Dragon lay motionless at her feet. Rose made her way toward the exit portal, and cast a wicked smile at the floor. "Away I go, Caydyn!" She shouted gleefully. "You can't hide from me forever! One day I WILL get my revenge…"

III

"Every Rose Has Its Thorn."

" _Sakura's going to get stinking mad when_ she discovers I've stolen her-I mean, borrowed her bow," Analynn whispered nervously, her fingers toying anxiously through her brown hair, which hung down in thick strands. "Suck it up, Ana-san," Chloe sneered in her usual, rude way. Analynn sucked in a frustrated breath. They had hated each other since fourth grade. Caydyn let out an exasperated sigh. She had thought inviting Analynn, Chloe, and Brittney to tag along was a good idea, but all they did was argue. Just then, a shadow spread across the room like peanut butter on bread. Jenny and Caydyn shot up immediately, all their senses alert. "Get down, you butt-heads," Brittney hissed. "It's just a butterfly, for heaven's sake!" Jenny sat back down again, embarrassed. _I'm such a klutz. How will Jay ever notice me now?_ Then she heard a creepy voice, like the rattles of broken shudders and the creak of an old door hanging on one rusty hinge. "Come to the west wing," The voice whispered evilly, echoing eerily throughout the halls. Jenny whimpered, then told herself, _No! I have to be brave, for everyone. For Jay-kun,_ she added, her face turning a light shade of crimson. With a last nervous glance at her friends, she hurried off.

Jenny ambled slowly through the hallways, listening for any more sounds, but the school was deadly silent. She closed her eyes, and clutched her backpack tightly. The classrooms were all deserted, and she felt someone was watching her. _Just like the orphanage,_ she thought. Suddenly, a pair of blue eyes appeared, followed by a smirking smile and a female voice. "Hello, little girl. What are you doing here, all by yourself?" Jenny took a shaky step back. "I-I'm not scared of you," The voice laughed, a somehow wonderful but evil sound at the same time. "You don't say, you're scared, aren't you?" "Y-yes… I mean, no I'm not!" Jenny had her back against the wall now, her palms were sweating. _I shouldn't be scared,_ she thought. _Why am I scared?! I don't even know who this is…_ "WELL, YOU SHOULD BE SCARED!" Suddenly, the figure leaped out of the shadows, and onto the smooth, marble tiles. "AAAAHH!" Jenny shrieked in horror, as she came to recognize the person who stood in front of her, who was not a mob, but a human. Her blood turned to ice, and a growing sense of dread like a murky-watered waterfall with water as black and despairing as death itself. She choked out in a hoarse whisper: "You're Rose,"

"Right you are, little monster," her voice began as a quiet hiss, then became a fierce growl as she finished her sentence. Rose sprang towards her like a leaping panther taking down its prey. In this case, she was the prey. Rose's eyes glowed a dangerous and wild shade of red like her fiery hair as she lunged towards Jenny, claw-like nails extended, prepared to rip her to shreds. As claw met flesh, searing pain shot through her shoulder, like a burning hot knife slicing into her skin. Her every heartbeat was exploding in her chest. Tears streaming down her face from the excruciating pain, she cried out, "Rose! Why are you doing this? What did I ever do to you?" Rose sniffed, clamping a hand on her sword. "I'm doing this as payback for what pain you stupid mobs have caused me!" She charged again, the same crazy red glaze inflicted on her eyes. Jenny cowered behind her arms. _My fate seems decided._

"STOP!" someone yelled. "What?!" Rose snarled angrily. "I was just going to finish her off!" It was Jay. Jenny's face blushed a pastel shade of rose red, crimson like blood under snow. "Hi, Jay," She smiled, looking up at him. _He looks as cute as ever,_ she thought dreamily, her cheeks still pink like cherry blossoms. She loved the way his snowy white hair swept over his shoulders, the way his sapphire blue eyes sparkled when he talked about her, and his charming smile, his- _Stop! Concentrate on Rose,_ she scolded herself. "Jenny, are you okay?" Jay cast a sideways glance at her.

"Y-yes…"

"Just remember, ALWAYS be alert. She's going to kill us the first chance she gets."

"Okay, I'll just follow you then,"

 _AAAAHH! I can't believe I'm going to be fighting alongside Jay! Oh-no, I don't know what to do! What if I mess up somehow, what if-_ "Get out of the way!" Jay shouted at her. Jenny scrambled to the left just a split second before an arrow landed in the spot she was just a moment before. Jay was right."Bring it on, Rose," Jenny stood up next to Jay, a determined look in her eyes. A fire now burned in her heart, flames licking her arms. "Bring it on."

Jenny flew up into the air, as the fire gently kissed her face and arms. She spun around, her silver streaked skirt billowing in the wind. Warm embers tickled at her fingertips, and a fireball formed in the air. "Damn it," Rose cursed. The room then lit up in a blazing inferno. When Jenny opened her eyes again, she found Rose's icy cold blue glare fixed on her, like a villain challenging her to fight back. Her eyes drifted to Rose's fingers, curling around her spruce bow like twisting vines, hungry for more. A poison-tipped arrow was aimed straight at her. The arrow then shot toward her in a burst of speed. A burst of flames burst out from her hands, and the arrow melted. She took a step closer, the bow still level with Jenny's throat.

Twang. A silver arrow polished off with fresh lacquer zipped through the smoke and pierced Rose's long braided hair. "Ugh, is this supposed to be some stupid fashion statement?" Rose turned around, looking quite silly with an arrow stuck in her hair. Thunk. Another arrow sailed through the air, landing in the stone wall next to Jenny's ear. Jenny cautiously backed away from the place where the arrow now stuck to the wall. "Unhand her, you crazy wannabe!" Caydyn shouted, who had just appeared with her friends Analynn and Brittney. She had a birch bow directed at Rose. As Caydyn glowered at Rose, Jenny squeezed out from behind Rose, and mouthed silent words to her friends. _Save yourselves!_ "Bring it on, kittycats." Rose smiled, as miners burst out from all sides.

The harsh wind whipped against Jenny's face, as her friends fought around her. Piercing shards of yell after blood-soaked yell floated through the charcoal-choked air, crashing against the walls and echoing back again. _Oh, no! Please God, no!_ With one last longing glance at the reassuring safety of home, she rushed blindly into the midst of the raging battle.

Jagged shouts rang out, and swords clashed. As Jenny searched for a way to help her friends, a heavy figure thumped onto her back, sending her back, pressing her to the floor. She fought to regain her balance, and went limp. "Stupid girl," The miner snorted, standing up. "What a wimp." Furious, Jenny kicked up, nailing the miner on the nose. For a moment, the miner stood there, stunned, clutching his nose. Then the miner reared back in rage, and lunged again. Jenny was ready for him this time. She somersaulted over the miner, who cried out in surprise, landed on the other side, dove through his legs, knocked him out with a blast of explosive fire.

As a young female miner came at her next, axe held at her side, ready to strike Jenny down, Jenny raised her hands to hit the girl with more fire, but then stopped and lowered her hands. This miner was just a kid. A fourth-grader, even younger than she. She shouldn't be here, fighting for her life. The miner paused. A slight hint of fear crossed her face, but a moment later, it was gone. "Hey," Jenny said, taking a nervous step forward. The girl narrowed her sea-green eyes, and raised her axe protectively in front of her.

Suddenly, a hard blow from a sword sent her reeling. All she saw was the deathly beautiful glow of the silver sword blade, like a sliver of silver in a mountain of gold, strangely out of place, and the miner girl's cold green eyes staring back at her, a grin stretched across her lips. It was a trick. It always was. With this realization, Jenny let blackness take over her vision.

IV

"She Would've Lived Forever, if she could've... But not like this."

 _Willow didn't mean for Brittney to die._ She never did. But everyone acted like she did it on purpose. She wasn't even here for most of the damn thing. That peaceful afternoon, she had been walking to the west wing, where her sixth-grade social studies class was, to retrieve her homework, which she had forgotten in the classroom. As she slowly picked it up, dreadful sounds floated from the hallway, like moaning ghosts. She glanced up in confusion, terror lighting her gaze. _Whatever that noise is, I should check it out just in case._ She crept in the direction of the mysterious sounds, her sword at the ready. Suddenly, her vision clouded. She felt like she was stuck in a trance. She felt the feeling that you know what you are doing is bad, but you just can't pull away. It was like she had a Marijuana addiction or something. After that she wouldn't remember anything.

Then time sped up again and she crashed into the pavement. _Crap_. Her twisted silver sword, however, had mysteriously disappeared. She heard a sickly thump, and turned around. What she saw would change her life as she knew it.

The limp and bloody body of a girl fell at her feet. The hunter had killed prey she never meant to. _What have I done? What have I done?_ Her emotions swirled around in her heart, lava in her body, the volcano, until it all became too much and the volcano exploded. Caydyn came running up, staring in horror at her like she was a monster. "What did you do?!" Caydyn frantically shrieked. "What did you do?!" Her hands gripped Willow's shoulders like bars of steel claws, ripping away the fabric and digging into her skin. "I didn't mean…I didn't mean to…"

"You killed my friend! You're a horrible, stupid monster! Because of that, you're putting the lives of my friends in danger!" "Caydyn, leave her alone." Chloe tugged her away gently. "She's not worth it."

" _She's not worth it."_ The words rang in her ears, a constant reminder of what they thought she was.

"I never meant to do anything, you piece of shit."

Tears in her eyes, Willow shoved Caydyn away and ran.

"I didn't do it on purpose. Everything will be all right. Everything is all right. This isn't real…" _But it is real. Everything that just happened… actually happened._ She clutched her head and closed her eyes. Ice swirled in her veins. Time stopped. _If I can wake up, everything will be fine._ She willed herself to try, but she was trapped. _If you can't wake up from your nightmare, maybe you're not asleep,_ a voice sang in her head. It sounded cute and innocent like a twelve-year-old girl's voice, but it was flooded with darkness with a sickly-sweet tinge. _I know how you feel. Just like you, I was hurt by those stupid ass-holes. They killed my best friend. I never thought I'd find someone like me._ "What do you want?" Willow whispered. Fear took over and she fell to the floor. Her head throbbed. _I'll never betray you like the others did. I understand what revenge means, and I'll support you every step of the way._

"You made a mistake. I don't want revenge, and I never will."

 _Oh, but I know you do. Deep inside, you want it. I can feel it._

"Stop saying crap like that!" Willow stood up and swung her fist at the brick wall. Pain shot up her arm, but she didn't care. All the anger _Don't hold on to that tiny bit of hope that they'll still accept you as one of them. Revenge is what you want._ "NO!" She shouted, clutching her hair with her bloody fingers. "No, no, no! This isn't what I want! NONE OF THIS IS!" _Stop fighting. Give in. Be yourself._ "Myself?" Willow asked. _Yes, Yourself. Be who you REALLY are._ "Who I really am…" were her last words before she faded into darkness.

When Willow blinked open her eyes, something didn't feel right. She was met with blinding lights and the sour smell of blood. She was lying in a hospital bed, chained to the bed. _Chained to the bed._ She had to get out of there, wherever she was. She struggled against the chains, trying to break free. _So you're awake._ "So what?!" Willow said hoarsely, trying to hide the fear in her voice.. _Stay here. I'll be there soon._ As if she could do anything but stay there. She wanted to deliver a sucker punch to whoever this person was. She waited.

The rusted iron door creaked open. Willow fought to sit up, ignoring the aching pain in her side, and peered over the end of the bed to meet the dark emerald eyes that were boring into her. The girl had tangled red hair pulled back into a messy bun. _Rose_ red hair.

V

"People Cry, not because they are weak, but because they have been strong for too long,"

 _Willow didn't recognize the girl immediately. Her_ appearance had changed a lot from how Caydyn had described her in her stories. Willow loved those stories. As she sat in the bed, staring blankly at the girl, she remembered Caydyn laughing and gesturing to her to come join the group on her first day of fourth grade. She had been younger then. She hadn't known all the horrible things that she thought were myths were actually true. Completely and utterly true.

Rose calmly walked towards her, carrying a black duffel bag. Willow tried to remain calm and poker faced. She watched as Rose set the bag on a small spruce wood coffee table with a snowy white cloth lain on top. She pulled out a scalpel, a knife, and a… a sort of pointy thing that kind of looked like a mix between a tube and a needle. "Well. Nice to see you." Rose held out her hand. Willow hesitated, but put out her hand anyway and shook Rose's hand. "Now lay back your head and close your eyes. This is going to hurt a bit, but you'll live." Rose smiled playfully and grabbed the scalpel. Her eyes. Rose was going to operate on her eyes. "Nooooo!" she shouted, hiding her head with her arms. She was not going down without a fight, and she was not going to be transformed into a cyborg.

Rose wasn't giving up either, apparently. _Stay still and it won't hurt so much! It'll be over soon._ Willow covered her eyes with a fist. Annoyed, Rose shouted, "I guess I'll have to do it the hard way!" and then she stomped over to the table, and all of a sudden, she had pulled out a long, skinny metal needle, attached to a small container with a glowing green liquid swirling inside like a tidal pool. She stabbed the needle into Willow's wrist, but surprisingly she didn't feel any pain. That is, until Rose yanked the needle out. Searing, blinding pain, shot up her arm like a fiery whip was being lashed at her. Blackness edged her vision and red spots danced before her eyes. Consciousness slipped away. She barely felt her eyes closing.

Willow woke up again. She had passed out at least three times today. She rubbed her eyes and sat up. She immediately regretted that choice, as she started to feel nauseous and lightheaded. She quickly lay back down, and immediately regretted that choice as well, for the ceiling and everything was a hazy red color with an alarmingly bright red glow. _What is going on?_ She thought, as everything turned back to normal.

Willow sat up once more. She was indeed feeling much better, but was just as confused. Her head ached like it had been bashed in with a club, her eyes felt sore and tired, as if she had been on a computer all night, and her chest just plain _hurt._ Little did she know, she now held the fate of the entire Minecraft realm and every living being in it in her hands.

XCIX

"There comes a point where you no longer care if there's a light at the end of the tunnel or not. You're just sick of the tunnel." -Ranata Suzuki

 _Jenny didn't feel too good. In fact,_ she felt horrible. Caydyn's explosion had really taken its toll on her health. Blood trickled into her eyes, blurring her vision red. Her small, pale hands were now drenched in blood. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw an arrow flying towards her. Exhausted, she wearily picked up her axe and blindly swung it to her left. As her axe made contact, the arrow, knocked from the sky, dropped to the ground. Jenny looked up. _Sakura._ She didn't like where this was going. She had, in fact, always thought Sakura, a skeleton, was a little scary. Goulish mask with a faded blood red ribbon tied across the left side of her head, black wavy hair with dark red streaks, eye patch, pale porcelain skin, and a Victorian gothic dress, she literally looked like an undead doll. When she spoke, her voice was delicate, slippery, like glass. But Jenny knew that glass could shatter and split into many needle-sharp pieces. "

C

"Sometimes you just have to accept when someone's part in your story is over."

 _The smoke cleared, but there wasn't much_ of a difference. The ash-filled air bore the thick, salty smell of blood, and Jay wiped his tear-filled eyes with a dirty fist. As he looked around the battlefield that had once been a peaceful grassland, he saw corpses littered on the ground, lifeless, scattered across the floor. He felt spent, exhausted, broken, and tired of hoping for that maybe things would turn out all right. He tried to sit up, but his muscles screamed in protest and he lay down again. As he stared blankly at the purple-streaked sky, he thought of his friends he cared for so much.

Caydyn. She had told him stories when he was little, comforted him when he felt alone. She had sacrificed herself for them, and now she was gone. Analynn. She had tucked him in at night, baked him cookies, and there was that lopsided smirk of hers. He tilted his head to the left and found her blinking open her eyes next to him. He sighed in relief. Willow. She hadn't been exactly friendly with him, but she was still nice to him. He could still imagine her shy eyes staring at the floor. And she had died in Rose's hands. Jenny. Her silky white hair flipping over her shoulder as she turned to look at him, beautiful eyes closing and smiling that cute smile he had come to know so well. Where was she? He frantically stood up, ignoring the scorching pain in his wounded side. He staggered forward a few agonizing steps, and then he saw her. Lying motionless on the dusty ground.

"Jenny!" Jay shouted, though it pained him to speak. Then Jenny's hand twitched, and she slowly raised her head to meet his gaze. He rushed over and knelt by her side. Her fingers trembling, she lifted her hand and touched his face. "Jay…" she whispered, her voice sounding delicate, every word like a crystal that might break at any moment. "I'm glad you…" she coughed, and Jay saw crystal tears welling in her ocean blue eyes. "You survived." She choked on the last word, and with terrible realization Jay knew that her end was coming. A bead of blood ran down the side of her mouth, and she smiled. "I-I love you! Please don't go!" Even though he knew she would eventually have to, he didn't want to admit it was true. "I always dreamed you'd say that. Now I can finally go to sleep satisfied." He felt something wet sliding down his cheek. When he touched it, he realized it was a tear. Then she kissed him, and it felt like thousands of flower petals were swirling inside his heart. "Goodbye, my love. One day we will meet again." Her hand slipped from his, and her beautiful pale face seemed to turn even paler. Jay felt new tears drop down over the old ones. She looked like an angel. _And she will always be one in my eyes._ He kissed her already cooling forehead, tucked a dandelion into her white locks, and turned away, fighting his sorrow.

As Jay headed up the grassy crest with tears in his blue eyes, he thought he heard Jenny's voice whispering to him under a bowl of velvety darkness speckled with glittering constellations, promising him she would wait for him forever in the stars. And Jay realized, bathed in the last rays of the dying sun, that he would never, in all eternity, ever be alone.

Epilogue

Five years later

Jay

Jay set down a bouquet of white tulips in front of the smooth gravestone. He kneeled down and closed his eyes. _Hello again, Jenny. I hope you like these tulips. You are just like one. snowy white, fragile, and dazzling. But when I think of you, you are more beautiful than any tulip in the world. You mean the world to me. I can't wait to see you again._ "Mister Jay, mommy says it's time to go!" called out one of Analynn's children, a perky three-year-old with jet-black pigtails. She looked like Analynn in almost every way. "All right, bye kids!" He called out as Analynn led her children away from the cemetery. He slowly got up, smiled sadly at the grave, and walked away from Jenny's gravestone.

Analynn

Analynn had never been so happy in her life. Though she hadn't forgotten the day her world turned upside-down. She could still recall Caydyn's last words. "And now, I will be reunited with him again." And the blinding flash and deafening explosion that followed afterwards. "Mom," her five-year-old son said, tugging at her shirt. "what's for lunch?" "Well, what do you want for lunch, Luca?" Analynn replied, smiling at him. "I want a grilled-cheese sandwich, and Phoebe wants chicken nuggets!" He grinned up at her, and her heart felt ready to burst with happiness. These children were all she was living for.

Skylar

Skylar was content. She was studying in a good college, had a supportable career in her grasp, and was just basically happy. She slipped on her silver headphones and started her favorite playlist. She hummed to the tune, flipped open her textbook, and took out a deep blue notebook.

Bonus Section

All quotes are meaningful… discover the character's favorite quotes here!

Analynn:

Brittney: "You better hope that when you fall, you don't fear what happens when you land."

Caydyn: "When I sank down, it was so hard to breathe. I gave up everything, in a slow fall down to hell."

Chloe: "And the flowers that we'd grown together died of thirst. Yeah, I know what it feels like."

Jay:

Jenny: "I hope the blush that I left on your face stays there like the tulips you laid on my grave."

Nico: "Sometimes you just have to stay quiet, because no one understands the shit that's going on in your world."

Sakura: "It's scary what my smile can hide."

Willow: "You were my new dream. Then you turned into my old nightmare."

30


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